After Hours of Anticipation, Trump Reportedly Says He Won’t Strike Iran

After hours of anticipation of what appeared to be an imminent strike on Iran, President Donald Trump softened his rhetoric late Wednesday night after being told that the Iranians would stop killing protestors.

Then early on Thursday, Trump reportedly told Tehran that Washington had no plans to attack Iran and urged the Islamic Republic to show restraint, according to several news outlets, including Al Jazeera and the Pakistani media site Dawn, citing Iran’s ambassador to Pakistan, Reza Amiri Moghadam. Israeli media outlets, including Times of Israel and i24, accepted the reports as credible.

Military preparations appeared to be in flux Thursday morning. According to The New York Times, following comments from President Trump that hinted at a withdrawal, the Pentagon began preparing to redeploy troops back to the Middle East; contradicting reports from just a day prior about evacuations. While strategic bombers were initially placed on high alert for potential secondary strikes, those plans now appear to be on hold, according to the Times.

However, a source tells Belaaz that over the last 72 hours, the White House explicitly notified several top Senators that the President had decided to launch an attack on Iran. The source added that plans for Iran were so pressing to White House officials and top cabinet members that other issues were placed on the back burner, and weren’t up for discussion.

Adding to the complexity, Walla military analyst Amir Bohbot reports that Trump personally intervened late Wednesday night to call off a planned strike. According to the report, the President had sought a swift, decisive action capable of toppling the regime immediately. When advisors informed him that such a result could not be guaranteed expediently, Trump reportedly decided the timing was not right, expressing concern about being dragged into a prolonged large-scale conflict.

Channel 14 reports that one of the reasons for Trump’s decision to hold off on the attack was that regional allies would not allow U.S. Air Force fighter jets to take off from bases located on their territory.

The reversal has left observers questioning whether the President has genuinely pulled back, or if the mixed messaging is a tactical game designed to preserve the element of surprise.

Senator Lindsey Graham, a close ally of the President, is urging immediate action, telling reporters he believes an attack should happen “sooner rather than later.” Graham stated that Trump “is serious when he says help is on the way,” adding that “an attack on the regime is the only help that really matters.”

Regional powers are urging caution. The New York Times reports that officials from Qatar, Saudi Arabia, and Oman have warned the Trump administration against striking Iran. These nations argue that forcibly changing the regime could destabilize the entire region, creating a power “vacuum” that they fear Israel might move to fill.

Meanwhile, the diplomatic focus shifts to New York Thursday afternoon. According to a spokesperson for the Somali presidency, the UN Security Council is scheduled to meet for “a briefing on the situation in Iran.” The scheduling note confirms this briefing was requested by the United States.

As pressure mounts, U.S. Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent revealed late Wednesday night that Iranian leaders are frantically moving tens of millions of dollars out of the country.
“We are now seeing the rats fleeing the ship,” Bessent told Newsmax. “We are tracing these assets and they will not be able to keep them.”

Despite the regime’s apparent fragility, President Trump expressed skepticism about the viability of the exiled opposition. Speaking to Reuters in the Oval Office, Trump questioned whether Crown Prince Reza Pahlavi could successfully rally the country.
“He seems very nice, but I don’t know how he’d play within his own country,” Trump said. “And we really aren’t up to that point yet.” He added, “I don’t know whether or not his country would accept his leadership…”

On the ground in Iran, the situation remains dire. Human rights groups haslve accused the regime of committing mass unlawful killings on an unprecedented scale, citing verified footage and eyewitness accounts.

Disturbing video has surfaced showing makeshift morgues overflowing with bodies. In one clip, anguished relatives are seen screaming beside rows of at least 100 black body bags, one of which was labeled with the birth date of a 16-year-old.

Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi attempted to dismiss these reports as a “misinformation campaign,” claiming figures of thousands dead were “an exaggeration” and asserting, contrary to all evidence, that there had been no unrest over the past four days.
Regarding individual cases, the fate of Erfan Soltani, a 26-year-old arrested during the January 10 protests, remains uncertain. While state media quotes the judiciary claiming Soltani is charged with “colluding against the country’s internal security and propaganda activities against the regime” – charges they claim do not carry the death penalty – fears for his safety persist.

Trump addressed the issue of capital punishment at a White House briefing early Thursday, stating he had received assurances from “very important sources on the other side” that executions would not go ahead.

In a sign of slightly de-escalating logistical tensions, Iran reopened its airspace at approximately 10:40 PM (New York time) after a nearly five-hour closure. The shutdown, which barred all non-permitted flights starting at 5:15 PM local time Wednesday, had forced airlines to delay or reroute traffic amid fears of imminent military action.